Crazy Monkeys on Game Design.

August 31, 2010http://gamedesignreviews.com/scrapbook/learning-in-starcraft-ii/

I almost transitioned completely into the multi-player mode of StarCraft II. There is hardly anything more the single-player mode has to offer for me. But it delivered in spades. Maybe not so much in terms of storytelling. However it is an amazing example of a incredibly well design campaign and a fascinating campaign structure. I [...]

http://gamedesignreviews.com/scrapbook/photoshopping-the-world-away/

I didn’t really have too much time due to GamesCom recently but I did manage to get some work done for TRAUMA. So here is another work-in-progress update. I’m still working on minor tweaks and corrections. They become less and less important as I go so don’t be underwhelmed. It’s pretty much polish right now. [...]

August 30, 2010http://www.floriankuhlmann.com/2010/new-release-superblasterescalationpower-de/

August 29, 2010http://gamedesignreviews.com/scrapbook/you-lost-me-at-lost-viking/

Despite of all that praise, StarCraft II has also some really horrible parts. I received the full brunt of one of them doing the single player achievements: the top-down shooter Lost Viking.
At fist sight it’s a cool feature. If you click on an arcade machine in the adventure part of the game you can play a [...]

August 28, 2010http://gamedesignreviews.com/scrapbook/day9/

I recently stumbled over Day9. Day9 is basically a very experienced StarCraft player and game commenter who posts daily videos on YouTube where he analyzes some multi-player matches and discusses strategies.
Day9’s channel is highly recommended if you are interested in StarCraft 2 competitive game-play. I’m really impressed with his smooth and entertaining delivery. It’s a pleasure [...]

August 27, 2010http://gamedesignreviews.com/scrapbook/b-team/

I recently watched the new A-Team. There was one strikingly bizarre shot that movie. Something I’ve never seen executed that bluntly.
FACEPALM
If you aren’t aware of the problem: the movie is supposed to take place in Germany, especially in Frankfurt. This shot is supposed to show an areal shot of the Frankfurt train station. It clearly shows [...]

August 26, 2010http://gamedesignreviews.com/scrapbook/monster-hunter-podcast-episode-5/

There is a new Episode of the Monster Hunter Podcast up. We answer some of the E-Mails and messages that piled on over the last few weeks. This time I do a duet just with Sheppard.
Get the Episode here.
The RSS Feed is here.
Get us in iTunes here.
The Tumblr Blog here.
Enjoy!

http://digitaltools.node3000.com/games/2677-up-down-ready

Up Down Ready (alternate link) is a refreshing small experimental game, that explored the minimal game mechanics of pressing the keys up and down on the keyboard. The aim is basically to “avoid obstacles” in changing scenes. There is the moment of surprise, because every scene got a variant of the basic core-play: sometimes you steer an airplane, sometimes a jumping horse… The mechanics of every scene are instantly understandable within seconds (otherwise this game would be unplayable). Maybe the best about this game are the cool graphics – a good demonstration, that graphics do make a difference. The process of game-making is (or will be) a little bit documented at updownready.net

August 25, 2010http://gamedesignreviews.com/scrapbook/used-games/

As many noticed a recent comic by Penny Arcade ignited some very silly discussion about the morality of the used games market. Apparently, there are a lot of misconceptions about how the market works. Let me address some of them.
Comic is here
First of all, the comic implies that if you bought a game used, you aren’t a [...]

August 24, 2010http://gamedesignreviews.com/scrapbook/gamescom-leftovers/

After posts on Kinect, Move and 3D it’s time to wrap up my GamesCom features with the smaller observations. For some odd reason, this turned out to be quite racing game heavy.
Gran Turismo 5 – after giving Sony such a hard time, I guess I should cut them some slack. I am seriously looking forward to GT5. They [...]

http://gamedesignreviews.com/scrapbook/gamescom-leftovers/

After posts on Kinect, Move and 3D it’s time to wrap up my GamesCom features with the smaller observations. For some odd reason, this turned out to be quite racing game heavy.
Gran Turismo 5 – after giving Sony such a hard time, I guess I should cut them some slack. I am seriously looking forward to GT5. They [...]

August 23, 2010http://gamedesignreviews.com/scrapbook/gamescom-3d/

One of the new technologies I was looking forward to experience in person at GamesCom was stereoscopic 3D for gaming. Just like Move and Kinect it is an experience that can’t be conveyed by any kind of established means of mass communication. The device I was looking forward to most was the Nintendo 3DS. Unfortunatly, [...]

August 22, 2010http://gamedesignreviews.com/scrapbook/gamescom-playstation-move/

So with so much recent praise on Microsoft’s Kinect, how does Playstation Move compare? It does seem like a straight-forward thing, right? It’s supposedly very precise Wiimote attached to a HD console. It has more buttons, no cable, built-in battery. Sony even seems to go for a more traditional, “gamer”-inclusive strategy with their line-up of [...]

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Bonoboblogs is an agglomerated blog of people who are into game design or related art. We tend to be clever and open and have fresh views on computing games. We fill the gap between experimental gameplay, game design and theory. More about.